SAUDI-BOUND Bangladeshi migrant workers are facing complexities over their flights following the new travel terms and conditions imposed by the Saudi government. They include medical insurance covering the risk of corona infections and hotel reservation for quarantine. Otherwise, the Saudi authorities said, the migrants shall be deported and banned indefinitely from entering the Kingdom.
Because of the travel advisory, Biman Bangladesh Airlines had suspended its flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia while the Saudia Airlines has decided to take an additional charge of Tk 70,000 for hotel quarantine. In addition, the plane fare of the airlines was doubled from the regular airfare. According to media reports on Sunday, sources at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training say, “It is an internal KSA issue but we are discussing how to facilitate our migrants with low cost travel to that country.” On the other hand, the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh said more than 4,000 migrant workers had confirmed their tickets to travel to Saudi Arabia. Some migrants also complained of taking extra money from the local office of airlines in city’s Karwan Bazar for hotel booking.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that our expatriate workers almost always get the raw end of the deal, from beginning to the end. Considering that these workers contribute the major chunk of the foreign exchange to our coffer, the possibility of having their job terminated if they cannot fly on time has grave implications for our economy too. Reportedly, many workers with newly issued visas stand to lose their jobs as they are not getting tickets because of the Saudi government’s new advisory order.
Saudi Arabia hosts the third-largest migrant population in the world; foreign workers account for about a third of Saudi Arabia’s 30 million population and more than 80 per cent of the kingdom’s private-sector workforce. More than 22 lakh Bangladeshis employed in Saudi Arabia, the highest in any country, are mostly engaged in low-paid work.
The administration must to go on overdrive to ensure that the migrant workers can join their workplaces on time. The authorities should be more proactive to resume operations of Biman flights quickly to ferry out the stranded workers. After all they should be helped to retain their employment abroad as their earnings drive our economy.
